Farmer, businessman, mayor, preservationist Bill Singer dies at 82

William Benton “Bill” Singer, a former three-term mayor of Lumpkin, Ga., died Monday morning at the Columbus Hospice House on his 82^nd birthday.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Lumpkin United Methodist Church.

Singer, a lifelong resident of Lumpkin, started school in Lumpkin, but graduated from Darlington School in Rome, Ga., and Emory University with a history degree.

After graduation from Emory, he returned home to Lumpkin where he was a successful businessman, preservationist and peanut and cotton farmer.

“He told people he was just a dirt farmer from southwest Georgia, but he was a lot more than that to the people of his community,” said his son-in-law, Gary Bruce, a Columbus attorney.

His on-again, off-again political career span more than a half century. He was first elected mayor in 1960s after he returned home from college. He last elected mayor in 2008, but could not complete the term due to health concerns.

Falling back on his love of history, Singer was involved in many historical pursuits in Lumpkin and the region.

He worked with others to establish Historic Westville and the Stewart County Historical Commission. He helped to initiate the restoration of the Bedingfield Inn, considered to be the first small-town community preservation efforts in Georgia.

Along with his wife, Sara; four children Rip Singer of Ponte Vedra, Fla., Mary Deborah Bruce of Columbus, Marian Rose of Wellfleet, Mass., and Julian Singer of Calgary, Alberta; 10 grandchildren; and brothers, Fred Singer of Atlanta and Buck Singer of Eufaula, Ala.

This story was originally published April 24, 2017 at 2:32 PM with the headline "Farmer, businessman, mayor, preservationist Bill Singer dies at 82."